Simply Business announce sponsorship of the England Amputee Football Association

Ahead of the European Amputee Football Championship later this year, Simply Business have partnered with the England Amputee Football Association.

Established in 1990 and sponsored by Simply Business, the EAFA act independently and without FA funding. They provide footballing opportunities for limbless and limb-affected people of all ages. A registered charity, the EAFA relies on both the commitment of amateur players, volunteers and partners, and the support of donors and sponsors.

The EAFA promotes and develops the sport of amputee football, providing any person with an amputation, congenital deficiency, or other limb-affecting disorder with the opportunity to access amputee football at grassroots, club or national level.

On 1 June, The England Amputee football team will take on rivals Republic of Ireland as part of UEFA’s official build up to the Champions League final.

The England Amputee Football Association’s friendly is being hosted by UEFA and the European Amputee Football Federation (EAFF). Taking place at the UEFA Champions Festival, the two sides will play a 6-a-side match after being greeted by a host of footballing legends – including Champions League winner, Cafu, Brazil’s most-capped player and a two-times World Cup winner.

EAFA’s Head Coach Owen Coyle Jr. said:

“This exhibition game is a fantastic platform and gives amputees a huge amount to aspire to. We want to show everyone who takes part in the sport at every level and every age that the opportunities to share the spotlight with world-class players are growing.

The EAFA are reliant on donations so we’re really grateful to UEFA and our sponsors Simply Business for helping us get here - in what is a big year for us with the amputee Euros in October.”

Fiona McSwein, Chief Customer Officer of Simply Business, said:

“It is a privilege for Simply Business to partner with The EAFA. They are on a mission to transform the participation of amputee football across the country, making life more fun and active for amputees. That’s a huge inspiration for us, and together we can begin to transform perceptions of amputee sport. We’re looking forward to a fantastic partnership in what will hopefully be a Euro-winning year for the national team.”

The EAFA operates a national and junior squad, a national league, a national cup competition, a course for coaching amputee footballers, and a national development programme. Later in June, the England squad will play a competitive game against Poland before competing in the European Amputee Football Championship 2017 in Istanbul.

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Notes to editors:

For more information, please contact:

Sean Canty
+44 20 7199 2215
sean.canty@wearesevenhills.com

Lily Wiggins
+44 20 7199 6699
lily.wiggins@wearesevenhills.com

About the England Amputee Football Association:

The EAFA supports, co-ordinates and helps to set up new amputee football clubs across the country, and ensures that these teams provide recreational football and have access to competitive football as part of its development strategy. It also supports the England Amputee national squad, providing access to training and funding support to participate in European and World events.

EAFA’s club mission statement is: “To provide regular footballing opportunities, under the guidance of EAFA, to local and regionally based amputees, or those affected by congenital and/or acquired limb disabilities without prejudice.”
For information on taking part or making a donation to the Association, please visit: http://theeafa.co.uk/index.html

About the EAFF:

EAFF has 15 member countries: England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Belgium, Georgia, Netherlands, Scotland, and Greece. It gained UEFA support in April 2015 at the inaugural congress of the Federation and has now become an active social responsibility partner of UEFA.

About Simply Business

Launched in 2005, Simply Business provides an online brokerage service delivering policies tailored to individual business requirements. It has a team of UK based insurance specialists and employs almost 300 people across offices in London and Northampton.

Simply Business provides insurance to more than 400,000 UK SMEs and landlords and owing to its internal underwriting capability can cover over 1,000 trade types. It has been a Sunday Times Tech Track 100 company for the past three years and was recently named in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA. Revenues have grown from £4.2 million in 2006, to £25.4 million in 2014, and the company has been named 2015 and 2016 winners of The Sunday Times’ Best Company to Work For.